Floral Arrangements
by Higuchimon
Summary: [one-shot, Digimon Friendship Challenge, Season 2, Round 1, Adventure/02 arc, Jun & Sora friendship] Jun needs a florist, right away! When she finds one, she's going to end up with a bit more than she expected.


**Disclaimer:** All canon-based characters, situations, and plotlines are copyright to their original owners, creators, and designers. I make no profit, nor want any.  
**Title:** Floral Arrangement  
**Characters:** Jun, Sora  
**Word Count:** 2,416  
**Genre:** Friendship  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Status:** Complete  
**Timeline:** 2005; about three years after end of Digimon Adventure 02.  
**Notes:** Small hints of Sora x Yamato, Jun x Shuu, and Ken x Daisuke.  
**Challenge:** Digimon Friendship Challenge: Digimon Adventure, round 1.  
**Summary:** Jun needs a florist, right away! When she finds one, she's going to end up with a bit more than she expected.

* * *

Jun rushed down the street, trying to remember how to get to that flower shop she'd seen a thousand times, and had never stopped in before. Why hadn't she ever stopped? She might know a quicker way to get to it if she had. No one had ever needed flowers from her before, so she hadn't ever bothered even to go inside to explore the merchandise.

This was all Daisuke's fault. If he hadn't broken his leg, then she wouldn't be trying to find the flower shop so she could send him a get-well bouquet or something. She hadn't really decided what she was going to buy him. A small plant might be better, even though he'd probably kill it inside of a week. It was the thought that counted, and Jun loved her little brother, even when he was being a thorn in her side. She wanted to get him something more than a sympathy card.

She paused on the street corner and looked around some more. It had to be around here somewhere, she just couldn't find it. There was the chocolate shop, the bookstore, the convenience store, the flower shop, the barber's, the teashop…

Oh. There it was. Well, at least she'd found it. She drew in a breath and watched as the cars zipped by. Traffic in Odaiba was always rough, and today was no exception. It would have been nice if she'd had some kind of a Digimon partner to lend her a hand in crossing this street. Daisuke had _promised_ over and over to take her to the Digital World so she could meet some Digimon and see if any of them wanted to be friends with her.

Now she'd have to wait until his leg had healed. She didn't know any of the other Chosen well enough to ask them about it. There was always Yamato, but she didn't think she really qualified as 'knowing' him. She might be dating Jyou's brother, but she knew that she didn't know him. If Jyou had taken Shuu there, then she might have tried to find a way to come along, but Shuu had managed to acquire Gotsumon all on his own. She didn't feel close enough to Ken or Miyako to ask them to take her either.

That effectively exhausted her mental list of who she could ask. _This is great. I've got one for a brother, one for an ex-crush, one who is my boyfriend's brother, one who is dating __my_ brother, and one who is my best friend's sister and I can't ask any of them about this. If she'd had the time, she might've screamed in frustration. Unfortunately, trying to cross the street without becoming street pizza was of a slightly higher priority.

There! She blessed the stoplights as an opening presented itself and she darted through as quickly as she could. Once she had arrived on the other side of the street, it only took another moment or two to weave her way through the crowds of people and finally duck inside the florist's shop.

"Good afternoon." The cheerful clerk spoke up as soon as she entered, the bell over the door ringing to announce her presence. "What can I help you with today?"

Jun paused just inside to catch her breath and only glanced over for a moment at first. "Do you have something I could use to give to my brother? He broke his leg, and…" Her words cut off suddenly and she took a second look at who was behind the counter. If she hadn't already known this wasn't her day, this would have put the cap on it.

Takenouchi Sora sat on a high stool behind the counter, her head tilted slightly to the side as she looked at Jun. She was even prettier than she had been three years earlier. Even with having the nice relationship with Shuu that she did, Jun couldn't help the small worm of jealousy that suddenly squirmed around inside of her guts.

_What is she doing here?_ Jun calmed herself as best she could and walked over to the counter. "Daisuke broke his leg," she repeated. She wasn't as calm as she would have liked to have been, and she _knew_ there was no reason for it. "I wanted to get him something, like a bouquet or maybe a little potted plant."

"I heard about the accident. I haven't had a chance to go see him yet, though." Sora smiled at her, and Jun wished it wasn't such a _nice_, caring, and honest smile. It would have been a lot easier to hate her if Sora wasn't such a good person. "Yamato went earlier today, but I had to work." She gestured around herself briefly. "Mom would've let me off to go, but she wasn't feeling all that good anyway."

Jun nodded a little, trying to take all of that in. "So this is your mom's store?" She didn't want to be nervous. Sora wasn't exactly a ravening beast who was going to jump across the counter and eat her face off. Nevertheless, they'd never spent that much time around each other, and Jun just didn't know how to talk to her.

"Right." Sora came from around the counter and went over to a display of small potted plants. "This might be what you're looking for. Though I don't know how well they'll live." She smiled over her shoulder. "I know Daisuke doesn't exactly have a green thumb."

"I was thinking the same thing." Jun nodded some and came over there. "But I still want to get him something. Maybe he'll hurry up and get well. He promised he'd take me to the Digital World."

Sora glanced at her, one eyebrow raised up slightly. "Oh? Any particular reason you want to go there?"

_She was one of the first. This is so embarrassing._ Jun turned her attention towards the plants, trying to decide which one would be the hardest for Daisuke to kill. She wasn't so rude that she was going to avoid the question, though. She wanted to think about how to answer it. "I was hoping to find some Digimon who'd be willing to be my partner." The truth was probably the best way. Besides, Jun had never really been able to lie convincingly. She'd learned that the hard way.

"That's pretty cool." Sora's smile had a way of warming someone up, and Jun didn't try to fight against the warming at all. "Do you think there's any particular type of Digimon you're looking for?"

"I hadn't thought about it that much," Jun confessed, picking up one plant and turning it over carefully to check it out. Doing so also gave her something to do with her hands and eyes, instead of having to look at Sora and confess her ignorance like that. "I was hoping I'd just find one and we'd click together."

"That can happen," Sora agreed calmly, turning a bit away. Jun followed her eyes for a moment and was surprised to see Piyomon there. The pink bird Digimon was perched on a stool of her own, keeping an eye on the register and on the front door. "If there is one for you, I'm sure that you'll find it."

Jun bit her lip a little at the phrasing. "What if there isn't?" That hadn't occurred to her before. Failure wasn't something Jun really believed in, even when it happened. It was so much easier to believe that you'd succeed, because then you usually did.

"You'll figure out what to do if that happens." Sora replied, picking up another plant and examining it. "I think Daisuke might like this one. It doesn't really require a lot of care. Even he shouldn't be able to kill this one. At least, he shouldn't be able to too quickly."

Jun laughed and leaned over to read the information on the ticket tied to the tiny trunk. Hardy, hard to kill, and it thrived in many different environments. It should be perfect for her brother and his attention span of death.

"I think I'll take it," she decided. It might stretch her budget just a little, but she was willing to take the chance. This was for Daisuke, after all. He was worth it. She wouldn't ever tell him that, though. He had a big enough head as it was.

Sora nodded and brought it over to the cash register. Jun followed along, glancing around at all the bouquets and flowers. "This is a really nice place," she said. "I've seen it a hundred times but I've never come in until now. I should come more often."

"You're always welcome." Sora told her. Jun turned quickly to look at her, not sure that she'd actually heard that, and Sora nodded. Then she frowned a bit. "You're not still upset that Yamato and I…"

"What? Oh, no!" Jun shook her head, the smallest bit of a blush touching her cheeks. "I got over that years ago. Almost as soon as it happened, really. You two are a lot better together than Yamato and I would be." She hadn't figured that part out right away, of course. It had taken being with Shuu, and seeing Sora and Yamato together, usually at a distance, before she had really grasped it. She hadn't even fully believed it, until she said those words just then.

"Oh. Well, if you want to come here and just talk or even come by the apartment, you're more than welcome." Sora started to ring up the plant, then paused and looked at her. "In fact, now that I think about it, what do you think about going to the Digital World with me this weekend? I don't need to work then and Mom should be feeling better too. If you want to go and find your Digimon partner that might be a good time."

Jun didn't really think she was capable of speaking for another moment or two. "You really mean that?" At least, she wasn't going to be saying anything that was very coherent. Sora just nodded.

"Why not? You deserve a partner, and I wouldn't be surprised if there is one out there waiting for you." Sora glanced down at Piyomon, who looked up and smiled happily. How a creature with a beak could smile was utterly beyond Jun, but Piyomon did it anyway.

"I bet you've got a very nice Digimon partner just waiting for you to come and meet her!" Piyomon declared. "You wouldn't want to keep her waiting, would you?"

Even if Jun had been inclined to turn it down, she couldn't have fought back that cheerful enthusiasm. It struck right into her heart, and reminded her of someone. She didn't want to think much about who that might be. She had a feeling she'd see who it was the next time she looked into a mirror. "All right. What time should I be there?" Then another question struck her mind, one that she had never really considered until now. "Where _do_ you live, anyway?"

Sora looked at her, then laughed some. Jun had to laugh back, and there was no self-consciousness to it at all. Laughing with Sora felt good. The girl might be younger than she was by three years, but that didn't mean a single thing right now. "I'll get you the directions. Just let me do this first." She finished ringing Jun up for the plant, providing a small sheet with directions for the care of it, which Jun folded up and put in her purse. "Let me know how long it lives? I want to know if we should put Daisuke on our 'wanted' list."

Jun had to hear more about this. "Wanted list?"

"People who kill plants so much that my dad has joked the Secret Plant Government has put them on a wanted list for murder." Sora chuckled at the thought, and Jun outright laughed.

"I'll be sure to let you know." The thought of Daisuke's reaction if he found out the plants might be after him was too much to resist. She'd probably want to videotape it if she could.

After placing a small 'sold' sticker on the plant's pot, Sora pulled out some paper and a pen and wrote down a series of directions as well as a number. "That's my cell phone," she said at Jun's questioning glance. "Call me if anything comes up about the trip." She grinned a little more. "Or if Daisuke manages to set a record killing the plant."

"I will!" Jun tucked the paper into her purse and waved farewell to both of them. Piyomon waved a wing back, while Sora resettled herself on the stool before waving. Jun took one last look around the shop. When she came in here the next time, would she have some kind of a Digimon partner with her?

She was certain of something, however. She _would_ come back in here, eventually. With any luck, it wouldn't be for buying a sympathy plant the next time. So many occasions could require the purchasing of plants. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, holidays: those were all just a few she could think of offhand. Maybe she'd just come down here and talk to Sora occasionally. There were plenty of places that were _less_ appealing than a fragrant flower shop to kill a few hours.

It didn't take her very long to get to the hospital and to Daisuke's room in it. He was half-dozing, but V-mon nudged him as soon as she stepped into the room, and his eyes opened at once. "Hey. Come to sign my cast?"

"Sure. I brought you this, too." She held out the plant, and Daisuke groaned audibly.

"Why did you want to torture it? Did it offend you somehow?"

"Be careful, or I might tell the Secret Plant Government about you," Jun teased. She settled into the chair beside his bed and got as comfortable as she could. Nothing could break her good mood of the moment, and she decided to expand on it. "Daisuke, I want to thank you for breaking your leg."

He stared at her, as did V-mon, both completely not comprehending what she'd said. That was just the way she wanted it. "You want to _what_?"

"I said, thanks for breaking your leg."

"Are you going to explain that?"

She leaned back, looking forward to many hours of teasing him like this. "No."

**The End**


End file.
